I felt along with the maid Griet, meanwhile pulling myself away knowing that was the way life was. She did not seem to fit on either end of life: Rich or Poor. However, that didn't keep you from wanting better for her. I love that she had a smart mouth... even knowing that it needed to be kept closed at times!Griet was also very observant, it seems like she catches small little tidbits that normal people wouldn't even give a second thought to.

It was a off the wall book, taking the concept of a painter and one of the paintings to create a story. It really worked. I enjoyed how they talked about the painting process. The set-up had to be perfect every time, which is understandable. The book's painter is about Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675). It was enjoyable to also read about how they prepared the paints, techniques that I only briefly heard about like crushing. Tracy did her homework before she wrote, props for her. The descriptions were beautifully written.

During the summer of 2009 I was lucky enough to spend a few days roaming around NYC. It was a fantastic few days. I am a museum person. I hit several. Here are my personal pictures of the Vermeer's work. These paintings are held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.

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comments:

I did see the movie, but I have not read the book. I didn't like the movie all that well. It has been awhile since I've seen it though, not since before I got married (so like over 5 yrs ago). I just remember feeling jipped at the end.

Sorry about that. I have not seen the movie yet. I wish I could tell you the book is better, way better. Wait a minute, 99% of the time the book is way better.

If you like art the detail in discribing how they grind the material to make the paint is pretty fabulous. I enjoyed that historic aspect of the boom. When you read it you can feel that the author put time into research to make the book as accurate as possible.

I happened to find this book at goodwill on one of my outing with my grandma. She always laugh when I make a beeline for the booms but I def find some scrumptious books. It is even better knowing that I get to give a book a second chance :)